Donations appeal following Clitheroe charity shop fire

An urgent appeal for donations has been issued by Age UK Lancashire after a fire at their Clitheroe charity shop.

Donations of unwanted clothing are desperately needed after a large amount of stock was damaged by a recent fire.

Shop manager, Sheila Tierney, is appealing to generous Ribble Valley folk to donate what they can. She said: “Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire, which started in the back yard, however most of our stock has been damaged by the smoke so we really need lots of donations”.

The fire happened two weeks ago (Monday, June 8th) and since then staff, plus volunteers, have been working hard to get the popular shop back to normal. Two teams of fire-fighters from Clitheroe, wearing breathing apparatus quickly managed to distinguish the fire, which destroyed sheds in the rear yard of the property. At the time, a spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue said: “The nearby roads had to be closed for an hour as crews continued to investigate the cause of the fire and had to check adjacent shops for any heat damage.”

Sheila went onto express the necessity of the Age UK Lancashire charity shop for local senior citizens. “The shop is really important to the charity as it allows us to raise money to help local older people in the Ribble Valley who may need help at home or feel socially isolated,” she explained.

“Having good quality items to sell in the shop really is important, so we hope the people of Clitheroe and the Ribble Valley can help us.

“We are also in need of volunteers to help out at the shop”.

The Age UK Lancashire shop is located at the top of Moor Lane near the United Reformed Church, where donations can be handed in directly to the staff and volunteers. For more information about volunteering or sending in your donations please contact the shop on 01200 453071.